Butterball Recalls Ground Turkey Due to Contamination

One of America’s most iconic turkey brands, Butterball LLC, has recalled 14,107 pounds of ground turkey products that may be contaminated with blue plastic. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service, the items were shipped to retail locations nationwide, with Butterball specifically indicating that ground turkey was sold under the Farm to Family and Kroger brands at specific BJ’s Wholesale Club and Kroger retail stores.

The products being recalled by the Garner, N.C.-based food manufacturer are:

• 2.5-pound trays containing Farm to Family Butterball All Natural Ground Turkey with the case code 50211271, a sell- or freeze-by date of 10/18/2021, and timestamps from 2123 through 2302 printed on the packaging.

• 3-pound trays containing Kroger Ground Turkey with the case code 50211271, a sell- or freeze-by date of 10/17/2021, and timestamps from 2314 through 2351 printed on the packaging.

The recalled ground turkey products were produced on Sept. 28 and have the establishment number EST. P-7345 inside the USDA mark of inspection.

Butterball was notified of the potential for small pieces of blue plastic after receiving consumer complaints, which initiated an internal investigation. While Butterball is working closely with USDA to ensure that affected products are removed from retail locations, the company is also asking consumers to check their refrigerators or freezers for these specific products. The ground turkey products described above should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

At this time, there have been no confirmed reports of injuries due to consuming these products.

Butterball is the largest producer of turkey products in the United States, with six processing plant locations in North Carolina, Missouri and Arkansas. The biggest turkey-processing facility in the world is reportedly Butterball's 675,000-square-foot Mount Olive, N.C., plant, located 64 miles outside of Raleigh, N.C., and processing 17 million turkeys each year.

Based in Westborough, Mass., BJ’s Wholesale Club is No. 27 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, while Cincinnati-based Kroger is No. 3 on The PG 100.